Back home, a muted celebration - comment

Instead of reveling in regional peace, many Israelis are wondering how they’re going to pay their rent, mortgage and provide holiday meals.

By DAVID BRINN
The flags of the United States, Israel, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are projected on a section of the walls surrounding Jerusalem's Old City. September 15, 2020 (photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN / REUTERS)
The flags of the United States, Israel, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are projected on a section of the walls surrounding Jerusalem's Old City. September 15, 2020
(photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN / REUTERS)
It should have been a day of celebration. Israel signed historic agreements with two Arab countries – the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – marking the only official signs of normalization with the Arab world since the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan decades ago.
The flags of all the countries involved unfurled in Washington and a state ceremony hosted by US President Donald Trump with all the pomp and circumstance and a beaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soaking up the spotlight.
Despite cynicism about political opportunism, campaign PR fodder and snarky comments about a peace agreement with two countries Israel was never at war with, it is still a major achievement. Starving all these years for acceptance in the neighborhood, Israel is slowly being asked to the dance – and not in a dark corner of the room, but in public.
Tuesday’s ceremony at the White House and the normalization that follows could have massive implications for the region and the prospects of a united front against the common enemy, Iran. There should be reason for excitement.
But 6,000 miles back home, there’s little cause for celebration. Mired in the coronavirus pandemic for six months that has decimated the economy, left over 1,000 citizens dead and thousands more unemployed, Israelis can be excused for their inability to muster up much enthusiasm.
Instead of reveling in regional peace, many Israelis are wondering how they’re going to pay their rent, mortgage and provide holiday meals.
Rosh Hashanah begins Friday night, and instead of looking forward to family gatherings, meaningful synagogue time or nature hikes, the country is facing another prolonged shutdown of at least three weeks.
It would be wonderful, if, like when the peace agreements were signed with Egypt and Jordan, we were riveted to our TV screens, scratching our heads in wonder and perhaps shedding a tear or two.
Sure, some people made it a point to tune in for part of the ceremony, and express gratitude that Israel has arrived at this day of further integration in the Middle East.
But for this breakthrough, half the country suspects Netanyahu’s and Trump’s motives, the other half is angered by the annexation freeze price tag that allegedly paved the way for the deal, and all of the country is preoccupied with survival. A trip to any supermarket in the nation will reveal pandemonium and the sense that most people are frantic about buying chicken for the holiday and the shutdown to come. The Washington ceremony is but a blip on their to-do list.
As much as we should want to revel in this achievement, the current reality in the country makes it almost impossible. Even the prospects of vacationing in Dubai can’t surmount the ennui and despair felt on the streets of Israel. It should have been a day of celebration. Instead, it’s just one day closer to the shutdown, with no end in sight for the pandemic. On the day history is made, Israelis find themselves detached from the big picture and obsessed with the minutiae of their daily lives.
Congratulations are indeed due to Netanyahu for his efforts to bring about the agreements with the UAE and Bahrain. Now, he needs to come home and try to fix the broken country he leads, and give some hope that one day, we can all celebrate without reservation.